Colposcopes deal with wide three-dimensional objects that are neither telescopic nor microscopic in nature and provide magnifications in the range of 6× to 40×. Conventional instruments are heavy, require special expertise to operate, and are so costly that only hospitals can have and use them. To ensure proper utilization of such costly equipment, colposcopes in hospitals are generally shared among a number of physicians for examination/investigation. Associated delay in examination may lead to delay in diagnosis and adds to the cost and suffering of patients.
Presently mass cervical cancer screening camps are organized by many volunteer organizations with an aim to detect cancer among impoverished people at a very early stage. If pre-cancerous stages can be detected for patients by observing the tissue color/pattern change through a magnified view of cervix, very effective treatment can be provided at a favorable time and at an affordable cost. Traditional colposcopes may, however, not be practical for such applications. For example, big, freestanding colposcopes used in hospitals require considerable setting time for its binocular lens system to be positioned and oriented to aim at the cervix inside the usual speculum. Therefore, such instruments may not be suitable for use in screening a large number of patients in mass cancer detection camps, which may be organized at remote villages cost effectively.
In practice a vaginal speculum is used to make the cervix visible within the vaginal cavity and subsequently diluted acetic acid is applied, which changes the color of cancer affected cervical surface tissue. The cervix and the vaginal cavity are illuminated to observe tissue color change visually. The change in tissue structure is difficult to identify while viewing through naked eye even by the most experienced physicians, unless the disease has reached at an advanced stage. An optically magnified direct view assists the experienced physicians to identify even the pre cancerous changes in the tissue color/pattern and increase the effectiveness of the diagnosis. Better identification of affected locations and capability of picking biopsy samples exactly from that area minimizes the number of biopsy samples to be taken. It enhances the accuracy of the diagnosis also. Optical quality of magnifying instrument reduces the chances of “false positive” visual diagnosis and associated agonies of the patients. Sufferings due to delay in treatment associated with “false negative” diagnosis will also be reduced. With fewer number of biopsy sampling from affected zones as identified; the bleeding, pain and associated complicacy can be avoided.